Judge reduces DeKalb man's bond in eavesdropping case

SYCAMORE – A 27-year-old DeKalb man accused of recording two women without their consent – one of whom he is accused of raping – is free on electronic monitoring after a judge reduced his bond Wednesday.

Matthew J. Rogers, of the 200 block of West Deerpath Lane, had posted bail and been on the county’s electronic home monitoring program since May 20 in connection with the rape case, court records show.

An acquaintance accused Rogers of raping her March 30. When police asked him about it, he told police he recorded the encounter without the woman’s knowledge, police said. The video includes the woman’s voice and shows him pushing and holding her down, police said.

Authorities filed a second case June 18 alleging he recorded a different woman’s voice without her consent March 12, court records show. His bond was set at $150,000, but Presiding Judge Robbin Stuckert reduced it to $10,000 Wednesday.

When he asked for the reduction, Rogers’ defense attorney, Richard Amato, said Rogers had been complying with the monitoring requirements before the second case was filed. He also had completed the court-ordered alcohol evaluation and planned to enroll in Kishwaukee College.